A riding buddy of mine just bought a Kona Explosif hardtail that he uses as a modern full sized dirt jumper. It's a bit new skool in that it has 27.5" wheels (which will incidentally make it a bunch more of a functional trail bike) but still has a really tight rear triangle and a pretty whippy front end to suit pump track or trials type riding. He LOVES the thing.
Also, just FYI, Santa Cruz does sell a built version of the Jackal.
Bikenetic (Falls Church) is a Kona dealer…Honzo is kinda cool, too.Originally Posted by taadski
To the OP: if your main usage will be your commute, do yourself a favor and buy a road bike. Back when I was a bike commuter (13 miles each way at the time), I started out on the mountain bike I'd had as a teenager. When I upgraded to a road bike, it cut my average commute from 55 minutes down to 45. (The bus was 1.5 hours!) If your commute is significantly shorter than mine was, it might not matter as much, but having switched to a road bike, the only way I'd ever go back to a MTB would be if I was planning on doing actual off-road riding. For on-road/paved trail stuff, road bikes rule, period.
Always wear a helmet. - http://www.brooklyness.com/ Here is a very cool one that is forthcoming. I may upgrade.
Also, I'd prefer riding a bicycle to taking a bus or the train about 95% of the time. You have much better mobility and speed on a bicycle than you do on public transit or walking.
As I said, I commute several times weekly on my bicycle. Mine is a 1965-vintage Raleigh-made Robin Hood (made in Nottingham, England). With a 3-speed hub, 26" wheels, and an upright commuter stance. I enjoy it as a commuting bicycle immensely. I prefer geared hubs to derailleur gears, because of their simplicity and reliability (externally, internally...just...replace the hub if it is broken). If I had a nickle for every time I've seen a bicycle with a mucked up rear derailleur that is now effectively side-lined, I'd be independently wealthy. Meanwhile, this now 51-year old bicycle keeps on ticking with minimal maintenance...Anyways, just my experience...
Road (race) bikes are killer for commuting. A cyclocross type bike might also be baller. My 8.8 mile commute was 30-45 minutes by car and in the worst of conditions 35 by bicycle, 25 if I wanted to move my ass.
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Think for yourself. Question authority.
Funny you mention the Honzo. There's a sentiment these days that the 29" bikes aren't as handy or flicky as some of their 26 and 27.5 brethren. Earlier this summer, I was in the market for a new bike and demo'd a bunch of the new breed. FWIW, I've been SUPER impressed with some of the newer wagon wheeled bikes. I think companies are finally starting to figure out the requisite geometries for that wheel size because a couple of the ones I've tried have ridden really really well.
I have a rigid 29" IF. While it's certainly more XC than dirt jumper, man I love how it it handles.
Like guns, it's all dependent on your application. I would't mind adding a 5" full suspension bike (Yeti SB95?) and a cyclocross bike, but I'm probably sticking with 700c wheels for the near term.
We should organize a nova/pf ride sometime.
Maybe Elizabeth Furnace before the weather gets nasty...
Chris
Yup, later on in my bike commuting days, I moved a bit closer to work, and 8 miles was a consistent and easy 30 minutes, even though there were several significant hills on my route. I regret 2 things about my road bike purchase: Looking back, I wish I'd bought 1 step nicer/more expensive than I did, because it would have been a significant upgrade in components (from Tiagra front/105 rear derailleurs to 105 all around IIRC). It would also have been nicer to have gotten a front ring set that was a pair instead of a triple. I use the smallest front ring so rarely that I think I'd be better off without it, since shifting would be smoother with 2.
I agree.
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